Ramming health care yada yada yada

Opponents of health care reform are making themselves hoarse and even risking their treasured reputations as sane and considerable people,Â trying to warn us about the popular hostility to health care reform as enacted today.Â Indeed, the Republicans’ grace and sportsmanship, openly warning Democrats about how terribly this would hurt them in the fall, has been a lesson in comity and fair play to all of us.Â The Democrats didn’t listen, and Obama didn’t listen, but now we have some real evidence of the enormity of this bill’s violation of popular and expert judgment.Â First, we have the devastating verdict of investors and the market on the ruinous business outlook it entails.Â As you can seeÂ in this DJIA chart for the week through today, the very first thing than happened on Monday morning after the votes was a precipitous across-the-board selloff. You can see it right there, at A: selloff! Index falling off a cliff! And in case you think it was a fluke, you can see five more crashes, one after the other – widows and orphans ruined, factories closing, lights going out all over America – in only two days. Stock up on your apples to sell on the sidewalk, folks.

Then there’s polling data, from which Gallup tells us that positive/negative/no opinion percentages are 49/40/11 today.Â What we need to remember, of course, is that those 40% are the real Americans, whose views deserve respect and deference (except the ringers mixed in with them who think the bill isn’t progressive enough, but you can tell them by their glowing red eyes); you know what kind of treasonous wretches are in the 49.Â Two weeks ago, these numbers were 45/48/7, but we should not be deceived by “trends” we don’t like. (For serious discussion and caution about bounces and wobbles, you are referred as always to Nate Silver.)

We ignore the people’s wisdom at our peril, yup.Â I am so not terrified of a fell vengeance on Democrats in November for HCR. In the spirit of Iago the parrot, I’m practically having palpitations from not terrified.